The Darkness of Black
by FallenFury13
Summary: Different parents leads to a different childhood. A different childhood leads to different choices. Rescued from his incredibly abusive adopted family by the most unlikely of people, Harry Potter becomes someone else entirely. With his power unleashed, what will he become? A Dark Harry story.
1. The Boy-Who-Lived

**The Darkness of Black**

**A/N: Ok, so I'm going to start this with an apology to any Sirius fans. Despite what the title may suggest, this isn't about him. All will become clear in time. Speaking of things becoming clear, feel free to ask me any questions on the fic, I'll do my best to answer them if they aren't spoilers or going to be explained in later chapters. EDIT: The 31****st**** of September doesn't exist, so that's replaced. Thanks to bookaddict19 for spotting this!**

_**30**__**th**__** of September, 1981**_

The black robed figure strode through the streets of Godric's Hollow, silently stalking his unsuspecting prey. As if in response to the mysterious strangers arrival, the inhabitants of this sleepy little wizarding town stayed in, doors locked tight. The pale skin stretched across the man's face, twisting into a sneer. _Godric's Hollow_ he thought disdainfully. _They should name the place after someone truly great, like my noble ancestor Salazar Slytherin! Then again…one so great should not have his pureblood name tarnished with such filth as this village holds._ He easily identified the house that was his destination: after all, over the many times he had been here searching for it, the house had been hidden from him. It also helped that it was the only home in the entire neighbourhood that had the light's on at this time, apparently trusting in the Fidelius Charm to keep them concealed. Laughing softly to himself (something that would've terrified his Death Eaters), Lord Voldemort recalled the convoluted chain of events that had led to his plan.

It had begun with the damn prophecy, overheard by one of his more useful followers, Severus Snape. Unfortunately, Snape's incompetence had led to him hearing only half the prophecy. Nevertheless, this was enough to act upon. The prophecy stated that a boy born at the end of the 7th month, whose parents had thrice defied him would have the power to defeat him. This could only pertain to a boy known as Neville Longbottom. However, the snag was that his parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, were the greatest Aurors alive, and were also part of the infernal Order of the Phoenix, which was led by Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had performed one of the most difficult charms to exist to protect the Longbottoms, the Fidelius Charm. But his true act of ingenuity was to make the Secret Keeper to Longbottom Manor a baby. This fit with the spells requirements of the Secret Keeper being _able_ to divulge the secret, as technically the baby had the organs and free will to do so, but lacked the vocabulary to say the secret. This baby was Harry Potter, chosen for his family's closeness to the Longbottoms. Dumbledore had taken the secondary precaution of placing the Potters under the Fidelius Charm as well, however, in an attempt to double-bluff the Dark Lord, did not make the Secret Keeper Sirius Black, as everyone had supposed, but Peter Pettigrew. And this was when the plan fell apart. For Pettigrew, jealous of his childhood friends, joined with the Dark Lord in order to gain more power and prestige.

Pettigrew had instantly informed Lord Voldemort the location of the Potters, which led to him being in Godric's Hollow that night. He had chosen this night as it was the 1st birthday of young Harry, and so he knew that the Order's guard would be more relaxed than usual. He had made sure that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, two formidable friends of the Potters, were occupied with saving themselves that night. Just how he was to get the secret from Harry, Voldemort was not entirely sure, but supposed that it would only be a matter of time before the secret was revealed.

He approached the gates, which swung open upon his command. He was amazed that there were no Order guards, and supposed that Dumbledore had wanted to give the family privacy tonight. Well, that suited him just fine. His red eyes surveyed the scene in the living room, James Potter performing simple magic to amuse the child. To his delight, the young boy had a small snake in his arms, talking softly to it in Parseltongue. This confirmed Voldemort's suspicions that his line and the Potters were connected many, many generations back, through the Peverell family. Never let it be said that the Dark Lord didn't do his research when he attacked. He had found this interesting piece of information, and also discovered that the Evans line of Muggles were actually descended from a Squib branch of the Gaunt family, who were cast out of the wizarding world many centuries ago, for the shame of being a Squib soiling Salazar's name was unacceptable.

All this meant that young Harry Potter had the strongest concentration of noble Slytherin's blood in the world, bar the Dark Lord. At first, Voldemort had dismissed this information as faulty, however, seeing this confirmed with his own eyes, he was reminded of his most faithful Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange. She had recently lost her husband and brother-in-law in a raid, and wished most desperately for a family. It was rather peculiar. A woman who could torture and kill children with no remorse also wished to have a child. Voldemort suspected it was as a result of her being abused by her own parents, that she wanted to give a child an experience of love that she had never had. However, with her being widowed, this could never happen now. Personally, the Dark Lord could care less; emotions, especially love, were beneath him. However, if it ensured her unwavering loyalty further, perhaps after the Longbottoms location was revealed he would give the child to her as a gift. After all, he came from a long line of Pureblood wizards and was related to Salazar himself! A pity about the Mudblood soiling his otherwise perfect lineage, but there were ways to…purify him.

Voldemort quickly unlocked the door with a silent _Alohomora, _which instantly brought a panic to the household. James Potter came running into the hallway, only to see a black clad figure with a long, bone-like wand pointed at his chest.

"Lily! It's him! He's here! Take Harry and run! I'll hold him off!" bellowed James.

Voldemort was amused. _Run? Run where?_ The house had only one exit, and he was currently standing in front of it. Also, how was he going to be held up by a wizard with no wand? As soon as the comedic effect of James Potter's words had died on Voldemort, he raised his wand and uttered the fateful words in his high, cold voice: "_Avada Kedavra!_"

The familiar rush of power ran through Lord Voldemort as the Killing Curse was spoken, the usual jet of emerald light blasted from his wand into James Potter. As he watched the life leave the Aurors eyes, Lily Potter rushed upstairs carrying her precious child, tears streaming down her cheeks at the loss of her love. The snake that had been conversing with Harry dropped out of the blankets, but recognizing the magic of another speaker, slithered over to the Dark Lord, before addressing him.

"_Hail, massster. It isss a joy to find another ssspeaker. The boy only muttersss a phrassse over and over, like a ssspell." _Hissed the serpent.

Voldemort pondered this. He assumed that because Parseltongue was a magical language, it had developed in the boy from birth, like regular magic. However, it appeared that this was not true, and that the boy's speaking had been the Fidelius Charms way of keeping its parameters intact, giving the boy the ability to divulge the secret. Voldemort smiled, in trying to keep the location safe, Dumbledore had actually given the secret to one who could not help but repeat it, for it was ingrained into his mind until it was shared, unable to be forgotten unless disclosed. As magic had given Harry a method of speech, Harry could not refrain from saying the secret aloud. Truly, the great Dumbledore's plan had backfired in the most spectacular way.

Thanking the snake for the information, he made his way up the stairs, where he could hear Lily barricading herself in the nursery area of the house. As if that would prevent him from achieving his objective. A simple overpowered banishing spell issued from his wand, ripping the locked door off of its hinges and throwing it across the room, along with the other items Lily had stacked there. As Voldemort stepped into the room, he noticed a body crushed against the opposite wall, crimson liquid dripping onto the cream floor, buried beneath an assortment of heavy objects. It appeared that Lily had been lying in wait for him behind the door.

Finally, in a small cot, lay the boy with the secret to the Longbottoms destruction, and the assurance of his own immortality. A messy head of black hair with piercing green eyes stared at him, not crying despite the loud noises. This pleased Voldemort. He detested crying children, they reminded him of the orphanage. To truly ascertain whether or not the boy felt fear, Voldemort sent a small Legilimency probe towards the boy. What shocked him was that instead of penetrating the boy's mind, his magic actually combined with Harry's. The baby's eyes glowed red like his own for a moment before becoming a muddy brown colour, a mixture of Lily's and his own. Hew would have to research this later. At this startling development, the Dark Lord approached him cautiously, before kneeling down and asking in Parseltongue:

"_Where are the Longbottomsss?"_

"_Longbottom Manor, Helga'sss Hamlet, The Lake Dissstrict." _Came the reply. The boy's face took on a look of relief when he realized that he was free from repeating that same phrase over and over. The Dark Lord smiled grimly, his rise was now certain. He placed a hand on the boy's cot to help himself up, however in doing so, set off a number of wards. Voldemort could see from the nursery window that the blue light of Portkeys shone from everywhere as the Order appeared. Due to the anti-apparition wards placed all over Godric's Hollow, he could not simply grab the child and Disapperate back to the Riddle Manor. Unfortunate as it was, he would have to leave the child behind, as having him would only serve to slow him down. He couldn't afford having the Aurors capture him. Whilst it meant that he would not be able to present the child to Bellatrix now, in the future he was sure he could track him down again. Of course, this would have to wait until after the Longbottoms had been dealt with, but no matter. Quickly flying out of the opened back window, he was able to make it out of Godric's Hollow and soon Disapperated back to Riddle Manor, to begin planning the demise of the Longbottoms.

Dumbledore rushed into the house, taking moments to grieve over James and Lily Potter's dead bodies. Moving away from Lily with tears in his ancient eyes, Albus moved over to the silent baby. He was startled to see that Harry's eye colour had changed, which could only have been achieved if extremely similar magic to Harry's own had been used on the baby. Brushing these thoughts aside, he quickly cast the spell to tell if the Fidelius Charm had been breached. To his dismay, it had, his foolproof plan had failed. He knew that protection upon the Longbottoms had to be at least tripled now, or Voldemort would destroy Neville, the only one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord.

But why had he left Harry alive? Riddle had never shown compassion for human life before. Was it possible that the innocence of this child had saved him? No, it couldn't be. Tom was too far down the dark path to be turned back now. Perhaps he thought the secret keeper had to be kept alive, even after the location had been revealed. Whatever the case, Dumbledore was overjoyed to see that Harry had survived.

Right now, however, he had to find somewhere for Harry to go. Sirius had run off in pursuit of Pettigrew for his betrayal, and Dumbledore knew that Sirius would most likely kill Peter. As Sirius would then be placed in Azkaban, he wasn't able to take care of Harry. Remus had his condition, which made him a far from perfect guardian. This only left his closest blood relatives, the Dursleys. Dumbledore had never met them before, but was sure that they would be wonderful people, as they were related to Lily, the most kind and caring girl he had ever met. Yes, Harry would go to live at the Dursleys.

And so the next morning, Harry and the rest of Privet Drive woke to the sound of a shrill scream.

_**31**__**st**__** of October, 1981**_

The Longbottom Manor stood out on the mountainside, larger and grander than any of the other houses, as befitting a long-standing pureblood household. As he had surveyed the property from his vantage point, Voldemort noted that the Order guards changed every 2 hours. Soon was Mundungus Fletchers shift, a common thief with little love for the Order and who was almost blind to anything that wasn't shiny. _Dumbledore is entirely too trusting _thought Voldemort. Had any of his followers had any background that would lead to untrustworthiness or incompetence they would be killed instantly. If they had proven themselves before, well, a little quality time under the Cruciatus Curse soon…encouraged them, shall we say, to be useful again. The idiotic Mudblood instantly neglected his guard duty and instead focused on his haul for the day.

Voldemort glided down the mountainside, alighting just in front of the Longbottoms front door. _This really is too easy _mused the Dark Lord. _One day, I shall thank Dumbledore for his skill in picking followers with no sense beyond their own greed._ As he had done exactly one month ago, he unlocked the door with a simple _Alohomora_, and stepped in.

Silence greeted him, not a single sound to be heard. He frowned, for this could mean only one thing. They were expecting him. He was almost about to turn back and return another day, before the temptation to defeat this one obstacle to immortality became too great and he forged on, checking the rooms as he went. Everything looked as if it had been used recently, but there was no sign of the inhabitants. Finally, there was only one room left to check. As he had at the Potter residence, he sent an overpowered banishing spell at the door to surprise any behind it. However, Frank and Alice Longbottom were known as the greatest Aurors of the era for a reason. They reacted quickly, reducing the door to ash before it had flown a foot. At this, Voldemort ran into the room, intent on removing the threat to his existence as soon as possible. As he did, Frank yelled "_Incarcerous!" _Ropes appeared out of nowhere and flew towards the Dark Lord. Clearly, the Order's noble stance on not killing still applied, even to him! A non-verbal _Diffindo_ sliced through the ropes, and continued on its path towards the young Neville, cutting a small gash on his head. Enraged, Alice performed a quick healing spell upon Neville, but in her fury had performed the spell wrongly, leaving a crescent moon shape scar disfiguring the boy's forehead. All righteous thoughts gone at the attack of their son, Frank and Alice now duelled to kill. A barrage of spells flew towards Voldemort, so he was forced to retreat back to the entrance of the property, at the other end of the building. Frank and Alice paused for a second, weakened from the magic they had expended. Voldemort saw his chance and took it, casting the Killing Curse. However, Frank had countered with his own.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ they bellowed.

When the jets of green light collided, devastation was unleashed. Usually, the negative magic in the Killing Curse severed the soul from the body, leaving no mark. However, the two negative magics had combined, creating a magic that was not damaging to souls, but to structures. Frank and Alice were ripped apart, bodies torn in half. The Dark Lord disintegrated, leaving no trace. The entire Longbottom Manor was blown apart, razed to the ground. Only a cot in the nursery stood, thanks to numerous charms on it to keep it safe from flying objects and structural destruction spells, in preparation for the kind of attack that had cost Lily Potter her life. However, they had not warded it against more direct spellwork as there was little point, the Killing Curse could not be stopped.

Dumbledore felt the magical explosion from down in the village, he had gone out to celebrate Halloween like everybody else, trusting Voldemort would not attack on this cursed night. After all, it was well known that magic often had…strange reactions on this particular night. Nobody knew why, but Voldemort must have dismissed these rumours for childish superstition. Albus raced to the Longbottom Manor, or rather what was left of it, with speed that should not be possible for a man of his age. When he arrived, the scene of devastation greeted him. "_Homenum Revelio."_ Only one heat signature was found, glowing at the back of the ruined home. Two cold signatures registered near him, and when he saw why, he gasped in horror at Frank and Alice's mutilated corpses.

As saddening as this was, there was only one person that truly mattered in the cause of the Greater Good, and Albus could not have been happier when he found Neville alive, but unconscious. Albus didn't bother trying to heal the scar, it could only have been a curse scar he felt, and so incurable. Dumbledore pieced together the events from this. Riddle must have entered the building, instantly killed Frank and Alice, before heading to the nursery. There he would have turned his wand upon Neville, and the mysterious magic of Halloween had acted, making the curse backfire. Finally, Tom Riddle had gone. Or in part, at least. Albus believed that he still resided out there, somewhere, incredibly weakened. He wouldn't be able to act for decades, at the very least, without help, and he knew that his Death Eaters would abandon him at the thought of his loss.

Soon Dumbledore had arranged for a very tearful Augusta Longbottom to collect her grandchild. She grieved heavily for her son and daughter-in-law, but was in part soothed by Neville's survival. Calling over one of the reporters that had almost instantly appeared at the scene, Dumbledore gave his exclusive interview on the events of that night. "Tell them" he said as he was finishing "Tell them that Neville Longbottom survived the Killing Curse, and Lord Voldemort is no more!"

As breaking news, the Daily Prophet was instantly printed with the interview, and a free copy was mailed to every wizarding family in Britain.

Later that night, people gathered in secret and raised their glasses, saying:

"To Neville Longbottom – the Boy Who Lived!"

**A/N: Alright, that's the first chapter done! I imagine a few of the events and explanations will leave some of you confused, but as I said, I'll do my best to answer those that don't give spoilers or that I'm planning to reveal later on. Please read and review guys, I love to get feedback from you!**

**~FallenFury13**


	2. Black Beginnings

**A/N: I realized I missed the disclaimer last chapter, so in case you aren't aware, the HP universe and its characters don't belong to me.**

**Thanks to bookaddict19 for spotting an error last chapter, it's fixed now ;)**

_**Three years later**_

The two former Death Eaters were not having a good time. They had spent 3 years looking for their fallen master, three fruitless years of non-stop searching the most desolate landscapes and yet they had found nothing, not a clue as to the Dark Lords whereabouts. Many would have given up the search years ago, after all, the person they were seeking was presumed dead by the rest of the wizarding world. In fact, much to the pair's disgust, nearly all of the once feared Death Eaters had gone crawling back to the Ministry of Magic as soon as the news on that fateful Halloween broke.

Many had claimed to be coerced either by having their families threatened or by being under the Imperious Curse. Complete and utter nonsense, but the Ministry ate it up because many families that had been arrested were wealthy beyond measure, and the Wizarding War had crippled Magical Britain's economy to the point of collapse. Bribery found its way into the Ministry, and certain families, such as the Malfoys and Lestranges, held such influence with their gold that they were able to almost dictate which mandates were passed, which never saw the light of day and even who the Minister for Magic was! However, without their Lord, these families were reluctant to act upon their power to put prejudicial laws in place. For that, they felt, they needed the fear that the Dark Lord's name generated.

But whilst the Malfoys were quite happy sitting on their mountain of ill-gotten gold, directing the flow of day-to-day life, Bellatrix Lestrange knew that her master had to be out there somewhere, MUST be out there somewhere. After all, there was no purpose for her if the Dark Lord was truly gone for good. So she had set out, following numerous dead ends until eventually she stumbled across another faithful Death Eater, Antonin Dolohov. As they only knew each other by reputation and by Inner Circle meetings, it was a shock to her to find that Dolohov was the Dark Lords primary researcher, a master of not only the Dark Arts but of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy as well. Whilst many thought Ancient Runes to simply be a lost magical language, Dolohov had travelled to places where the magic of the Ancients still lingered, such as the pyramids of Giza, the Acropolis and he had even been to the fabled Well of Mimir, from which the great sorcerer Odin was once thought to have drank.

Dolohov had used his translating skills and deciphered the markings in these locations, and the glyphs had been spells lost to time. His mastery of Arithmancy served only to widen his incredible repertoire of spells, allowing him to create his own given enough time. In fact (to Bella's horror) he was just as dangerous as her, a world class duellist in his own right.

The twisted faced man had instantly become her travelling companion, to pool their knowledge and of course, misery loves company. Still, even with their combined resources, it was a struggle to obtain any information and when they did, it always led to disappointment. But the pair's fanaticism knew no bounds, and they kept on trying.

The latest lead they were on the trail of spoke of how the creatures of the forest in a remote part of Albania fled in fear from a shadowy silhouette, save for snakes, which flocked to the area in great hordes. Knowing of the Dark Lords Parseltongue ability, and of the fear he can induce, the two travellers were hopeful that finally their quest was at an end. Of course, it could end up to be yet another hoax, but this was the most promising lead they'd got in 3 years.

The two Death Eaters strode through the forest, wands at the ready, fearful of what the Dark Lords presence may attract. The pair eventually appeared in a clearing, the bare branches of the trees standing against the silvery moonlight, looking like skeletal fingers. A cold wind whistled through the forest, chilling them to the bone.

"Well, if this isn't a stereotypical evil woods setting, I don't know what is." Remarked Bella in her blunt manner, her black robes whipping around in the gust.

Dolohov only chuckled in response, but she could tell it was to hide his own nervousness in the situation. His knuckles had whitened at how tightly he was gripping his wand, looking ready to curse the first thing that moved.

As if in response to Bellatrix's words, hissing arose from all sides, snakes of different shapes and sizes seemingly appearing from nowhere. As one they rose, hissing in defiance at the two intruders. A higher, colder hiss rose above the clamour: "_Let them passs…" _and the agitated serpents calmed instantly, although many still eyed Bella and Dolohov distrustfully.

The two glanced at each other excitedly, only one they knew had the power to do this, the one they searched for so long, their Dark Lord!

"Help…me…" A pitiful voice said, although in great pain. "Please…" Lord Voldemort hated himself for sounding so weak, so vulnerable, but it would be worth it when he had the help of the fools. Then he could rebuild his body, and begin his conquest once again. After, of course, he had punished his followers for not searching for him. None of them were faithful…

So it was to the Dark Lord's great surprise when he identified the foreign magical signatures as belonging to two of his most valued, Bellatrix and Antonin! Finally, his followers had come!

The two rushed over to the source of the voice, a hollow tree at the edge of the clearing. The snakes parted before them, like a living sea. When they had reached the tree, a black-robed figure stood before them. The pair immediately prostrated themselves, shouting their elation:

"My Lord, after 3 years, we have finally found you…"

"Master, we alone searched, knowing that you had survived…"

The figure stood silently, watching them impassively. Bella reached down to touch his robes, when her fingers simply slipped through them.

"My Lord…?" asked Bella in a questioning tone.

In his trademark cold voice, Voldemort replied "I am shadow now, vapour, less than the meanest ghost. It will be years before the damage wrought on that night 3 years ago is undone. But allow me to congratulate you two on being my most faithful. Now, Antonin, retrieve my wand for me? It can be found in the tree."

At once Dolohov leapt to his feet, eager to do his masters bidding once again. He reached inside the wood, pulling a long, bone like wand from its centre. He handled it as a Muggle might handle something like the Holy Grail, an object to be feared and revered.

"Now, Bella, may we retire to somewhere a little more hospitable?"

Bellatrix reached within her robes and revealed a portkey, disguised as a ring.

"My Lord, how are we to transport you, as we…"

Before she had completed her sentence, her shadowy figure of Lord Voldemort dissipated into a black mist, before being swallowed by one of the closest serpents. Said snake then moved towards Antonin, coiling around his arm in a tight grip, Dolohov barely repressing the shiver of disgust that almost ran through him.

When all three were touching the portkey, the familiar blue glow lit the otherwise abandoned forest, before they disappeared.

**~~Line Break~~**

Lestrange Manor was suddenly filled with blue light, as the trio entered by portkey. The only reason the wards hadn't kicked them out with their brains oozing from their skulls was the fact that Bella travelled with them, preventing the ancient protection from activating.

Bella, intent on making her Lord as comfortable as possible, yelled out "Dipsy!" A haggard looking house elf appeared with a crack, wearing only a worn bit of curtain, which was fashioned into a dress. The elf also sported many bandages, reminders of past punishments.

"Yes mistress?" The poor thing shook with fear as she bowed to her mistress, the quivering of her voice betraying her terror.

"Light the fire, you miserable being, then pad the armchair with the most comfortable cushions you can find." Bellatrix instructed. "Well, what are you waiting for? GO!" she half-shrieked, half-snarled.

Soon, the serpent that contained the spirit (or what remained of it) of the Dark Lord was coiled upon the finest cushions filled with Hippogriff down, in front of a roaring fire.

In a hissing, rasping voice, but maintaining the high cold factor of the Dark Lords, the snake began to speak.

"Our time is short, my favoured ones. This body cannot sustain me for long, so I shall leave the rest in your capable hands." Sending a Legilimency probe towards Antonin, who had the weaker Occulumency shields, the twisted faced man was suddenly assaulted by the image of a list. A list with…ingredients?

"Those are the ingredients to a potion that will make me a shell to live in, a cocoon, if you will, that with the aid of another potion shall return me to life. However, the potion is very volatile, and so only the most skilled can brew it. I believe Severus Snape has the credentials to do this. Fear of my name should ensure his silence, but an Unbreakable Vow wouldn't go amiss either. Both potions take 7 years to brew. Until the first is completed, I wish for this form to be kept in suspended animation, to prevent any…damage to myself." The snake looked across to Dolohov. "I believe you know this ancient spell?

When Dolohov nodded in the affirmative, Voldemort continued.

"Now, to reward you. Lord Voldemort always helps those who help him. Antonin, on my travels before that Halloween night, I came across a great wealth of ancient knowledge, written in a language so old that even I could not decipher it. You, however, will most likely have more success in this venture than I. So I gift you the location of the ruins."

When Dolohov received the mental location, his twisted face lit up in glee. More knowledge, more spells, more power with which to serve his master!

"My Lord, I do not know how to thank you for such a precious gift…" Dolohov began, before being cut off.

"Then don't." said Voldemort amusedly. "As for you Bella… During my time in the forest, I had gathered a substantial spy force in the snakes. By smuggling themselves on Muggle transports, I had infiltrated Europe." Bellatrix looked confused, where was her Lord going with this?

"Through this network, I discovered the fate of a boy, a boy who not only carries the blood of 2 Ancient and Noble Houses, but also that of Salazar himself, the only other living descendent of Slytherin! However, Dumbledore took him from the magical world after I had…dealt with his parents. He sent him to live with _Muggles._" The word was used as the most horrid curse. "You, my dear Bella, are to liberate him from these abominations, and raise him as you see fit."

Bellatrix's eyes shined with unshed tears, her master was giving her what she most wanted in all the world, the ability to raise a child. Not only that, one of such noble blood that he was related the Dark Lord himself!

"M-m-my Lord, you are so generous, so wonderful, so great…"

"Yes, yes, I know. Upon your retrieval of him, I have something else I wish to give you. The location of the boy is known as Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. The boy's name…Harry Potter."

**~~Line Break~~**

"Freak! Get up!" The shrill, shrieking voice of Petunia Dursley greeting four year old Harry Potter to another day. The sun shined, blue skies above, but Harry could not help but dread the day to come. He rolled off of his tiny bed, careful not to put any pressure on his bruised ribs. In fact, he thought he might have heard a cracking sound last night when Uncle Vernon was "reminding" him why you don't beat Dudley in a game.

Harry was extremely thin, his skin seemingly stretched over his bones, ribs sticking out like keys on a xylophone. His left arm was slightly twisted at the elbow, testament to a time on his 3rd birthday when he asked if he could have a toy to play with, like Dudley. His unruly black hair grew all over the place, which often earned him beatings on the grounds of "not being tidy enough". His vision was also impaired, a result of a few too many blows to the head, however, the Dursleys wouldn't buy him glasses

He toddled out of the cupboard under the stairs, barely given time to breath before Aunt Petunia's hand knocked him to the floor, sending his head crashing against the door to his cupboard. Harry's vision filled with stars, and all he could feel was blinding pain, yet he didn't cry. Harry had learned early on that crying only brought yet more punishment.

"Next time, be quicker." Hissed his aunt, before stalking off to smother Dudley in motherly affection. Harry looked on with envy. He couldn't remember what his parents looked like. Sometimes he wished for them to come and save him from this place…

The rest of the day passed without much incident, mainly because Harry knew that the best way to escape punishment was simply not to be in their vicinity. He spent most of the time locked in his cupboard, as the Dursleys wouldn't let him out of the house.

However, at 7 that evening, just after dinner (the overboiled veg that Dudley didn't want, left to go cold), the doorbell rang. Looking puzzled, Petunia went to answer it. When she opened the door, the strangest sight greeted her. A person, dressed in a cloak of the deepest black, stood before her. The figure was a woman with electrifying blue eyes, an aristocratic face and wonderful raven hair that made Petunia incredibly jealous.

"Hello." Said the woman. "I'm here about a Mister Potter?"

**~~Line Break~~**

Bellatrix could hardly contain her disgust at the filth before her. These pieces of dirt were in custody of one of noble blood? The thought sickened her.

"Hello." She said as politely as possible. "I'm here about a Mister Potter?"

_Its_ face suddenly whitened, and yelled behind her "Vernon! They're here for…for…for _him_."

_Yay, let's play the pronoun game!_ Thought Bella sarcastically. A little hypocritical of her, considering that she did not believe those without magical heritage to be worthy of a name. Still, after her enquiry, there could only be one _him_ to which they were referring.

"BOY!" a deep voice roared from inside. A sound of unlatching, small feet running across carpet. "Did you go out?"

"No Uncle Vernon." A small voice replied. Uncle, thought Bella, yes, that's right, these were his last blood relatives.

"Did you contact anyone?"

"No Uncle Vernon."

"LIAR!" yelled the deep voice, and then Bella heard a sound she'd hoped never to hear again, a sound from her own childhood; a fist hitting flesh, followed by the crack of bone. A small shape flew into the hallway before crumpling to the ground.

The female thing turned towards her, probably to offer some cock-and-bull explanation, but Bella had seen enough. Darting past the female, she immediately went to her downed figure, healing the more recent injuries. The others would have to be dealt at back at the Manor. To say she was shocked at his condition would be a lie, after all, she had experienced much the same thing. But she was incensed that these creatures would have the audacity to lay a hand upon one of noble blood! Turning back to the useless lumps, her anger boiled over.

"YOU-FILTHY-MUGGLES!" She bellowed, creative dark curses flying from her wand to punctuate each word. "HOW-DARE-YOU-TOUCH-A-WIZARD!"

Her rage continued for around 5 minutes, as did the Dursleys lifespan. In that time, the living room looked more like a scene from a horror movie, blood splattered across every surface.

Thankfully, Harry was oblivious to this, for all he knew was the woman's face that had appeared in front of him, before muttering some words and causing a wonderful feeling to build inside of him, taking some of his pain away, though a lot remained. The woman entered his field of vision again, breathing heavily, looking at him with… something he didn't recognize, because it wasn't hatred or loathing. This could only mean one thing to Harry's young mind.

"Are you my Mummy?"

The woman looked shocked, before a huge smile lit up her face.

"Yes child." She said beaming. "I'm your Mummy."

**~~Line Break~~**

"Ah, Bella, I see you have returned…" Then Voldemort saw the state of Harry in Bella's arms. He was furious that a Muggle would dare attack a magical child, but consoled himself with the knowledge that Bella would have put them in their place. "I think it is best to give him the necessary potions, Bellatrix, then bring him back here to the living room."

"Yes my Lord!" Said she, worry clearly evident in her voice. She left to gather the pain relief potions, and Voldemort slithered down to where the child was sleeping. Dipping his tail in the child's blood, which still flowed from a gash on his forehead, the Dark Lord began tracing runes around the child.

Bella returned breathless, having obviously run to the potions cabinet to treat Harry as quickly as possible. Such was her haste that she didn't notice the strange symbols surrounding him until she had used every last drop of Pain-Relief potion on him. Upon seeing them, she turned to question her master, who instantly knew what the question was.

"This, my dear, is the second part of my gift to you. Recently, I came to acquire the knowledge of a ritual that strips ones being down to the barest essentials, and then rebuild them, but with characteristics of the performer as well. I believe the Mudblood I tortured the information from called it Magical Genetic Modification. No idea what that means, but in essence you can purge his blood of the Mudblood taint, and restore it with your own!"

Upon hearing this, Bella was ecstatic. She could truly make the child her own, and a perfect pureblood as well! Eagerly she accepted the rituals instructions from her master via Legilimency, before sending her magic into the runes to activate the ceremony.

Threads of magic flowed from the boy, glowing blue or pink, for whether they were inherited from father or mother. With a tap of her wand, Bella discovered that she could learn what each individual thread did. Bella fixed those she did not like first, for example, replacing the "messy black Potter hair" thread with her own "perfectly straight and raven coloured hair". Also, she easily fixed the genetic vision fault that had plagued the Potter men for centuries. Unbeknownst to her, the amount of magic coursing through Harry was also fixing his body, his arm being straightened and remade, and 3 years of growth stunting being put right.

Curiously, only the one pink thread ran in Harry: his eye colour. Bella took no small amount of pleasure from blasting it to dust, ridding Harry of the Mudblood taint. Upon doing so, however, a new thread emerged, a bright red one. Harry's eyes flew open, although he was still unconscious, revealing crimson orbs.

"I always wondered why his eye colour changed…" mused the Dark Lord. "It seems that part of my magic was familiar to him, through his old Peverell blood, and so has bonded to him, becoming a part of his magical core. It will be interesting to see how this changes his development…"

Bella was slightly worried. She couldn't have her child go through life with red eyes, but equally, she could not destroy something that belonged to her Lord. Eventually, she resolved to try and combine her own threads with Voldemort's within Harry. Perhaps her blue would overpower the red. Surprisingly, whilst not the result she expected, her gambit worked, the two colours merging.

Just before his eyes closed once more, Bella caught a glimpse of them, her child's vibrant violet eyes.

**~~Line Break~~**

Severus Snape walked briskly out of the Headmasters office, fuming at the outcome of the conversation inside. Apparently, Lily's child, _his _Lily, was taken custody of by Bellatrix Lestrange. Dumbledore had spent ages dancing about his office, ranting about how presumptuous Bellatrix was, saying that "How is Harry not fine wizarding name, much less assuming than Hadrian." And that "She should not be able to simply change his family name."

It seemed that Bella had wanted to make Potter a true part of her family, but lacking the authority to make him a Lestrange, she had used the fact that Sirius Black was in Azkaban to enable Sirius' will to be read out. After all, once incarcerated in Azkaban, you were declared legally dead. In his will, Sirius simply left everything to the young Potter, including hid House name. This Bella immediately seized upon, and in a move of political genius, made Harry Potter into Lord Hadrian Black, and made herself his proxy. As no one person could sit on more than one Wizengamot seat, she then declared herself a Black once again. What this did was shift the Lestrange and Potter fortunes into the Black vault, and allowed Bella the run of 3 different votes through 1 seat.

This, however, was not what worried Snape. Dolohov, one of his old "comrades" had come to him with a list of ingredients. Severus recognized it immediately, a potion to give form to the formless, a shell of flesh for a spirit to live in. And he reason he was terrified was the same reason that he knew of the potion, for it could only mean one thing: Lord Voldemort was trying to return.

He had explained this very carefully to Albus, and fully expected to be told that under no circumstances were he to make this. To his shock, however, Albus was positively delighted, and urged him to brew it.

Why? Because hid golden boy, Neville Longbottom, was supposed to defeat him, and what better way than when the Dark Lord is in a helpless baby form? Severus argued for all he was worth, knowing that his mind would take a battering from Legilimency attacks over the coming 7 years of brewing, for he knew that he was not completely trusted in the Death Eater circles. That damn Boy-Who-Lived had condemned him to 7 years of mental struggle, just so he could bring back an evil.

Snape was not happy at all.

**A/N: Omg, I've been waaaaaaaaay too damn lazy. This was supposed to be written ages ago, and I apologize greatly for the delay.**

**Any discrepancy's in Bella's physical description with canon is going to be put down to the fact that in this, she's never been to Azkaban. Yep, Azkaban is blame for her dark eyes and wild hair. At least, it is in this fic c;**

**Antonin's part in this story will become clearer as Hadrian grows up, so basically, the next couple of chapters.**

**Review feedback time!**

**Gauss: Damn, you called it. Good work :D**

**Le Diablo Blanc2: No, he won't be with Luna, Ginny or Hermione. That's not to say he won't be friends with them, but yeah, out of the few prospective partners I have lined up, they aren't part of it. I prefer using lesser used pairings.**

**Man of Constant Sorrow: As said above, sorry, but Hermione isn't gonna happen. I'll admit, after reading your review I was tempted to give it a go, but let's be honest: Harry/Hermione is overdone. Also, I don't know why, but Hermione's character in general just annoys me. Her and Hadrian's personalities clash, and so any attraction would be purely physical, which isn't a great way to base relationships.**

**Impstar: I'm going to say that Voldemort is loath to kill one of noble blood, especially one related to him. Also, he was focused on eliminating Neville, whereas Harry held no potential danger. Alternatively, you could see straight through this flimsy reasoning to see it for what it really is: plot convenience.**

**Anyway, read and review please guys! More reviews = more motivation for me, so please do leave a comment on what you thought was good, what needs improving, or even just to yell at me to update more.**

**~FallenFury13**


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